Only Mine

Chapter 12

The first time I realized I was conscious was when I heard a persistent wringing in my ears. The darkness around me triggered a state of utter confusion within me. My eyelids felt heavy to lift and every time I tried to open them, I felt intense pain in the right side of my head. When I finally managed to awaken, I noticed that I was awkwardly sprawled on my back with my left leg twisted at an ungodly angle that injected extreme pain every time I tried to move it. I was wedged in between two strong dark walls made of leather and I had another leather wall strewn across my lower body. I noticed Alessandro's body haphazardly strewn across my lower torso. Blood oozed out of his temple and his eyes were firmly shut. 

My body gave in to panic at seeing his disheveled state and convulsed into shivers. I tried to calm myself with deep breaths but the chaos and lack of memory as to my surroundings seemed to feed my panic and turn it into a full blown assault on all my senses. My heartbeat fluttered faster than a hummingbird's and my flight or fight response kicked in. I tried moving my body with all my might but all I could feel was painful needles pricking me all over. Slowly, memories of me being driven by Alessandro from college crawled into my mind. I remember my body being hurled across the car and then nothing. I came to the conclusion that we had probably been in a car accident. I tried to move my right undamaged leg again but it was safely and uncomfortably lodged between Alessandro's seat and the car floor. 

"Alessandro!" I called out. I tried yelling but it did not come off as anything more than a whisper to my ears. I didn't know if I was actually speaking low or my ears were damaged from the crash.

"Alessandro! Wake up!" I tried shouting out to him again. 

His eyes started fluttering open. They gave way to confusion at first, but then he saw me. The understanding and predicament of his situation dawned on him and he sprung into action like a man who was trained to react like a soldier when attacked. He struggled with all his strength against his seat belt.

"Ella, are you okay?" he asked me with determination in his voice. For someone who had just realized he was in a car accident merely seconds ago, he exuded nothing but calmness.

"I don't know," I panicked. Tears started rolling down my leg as my situation started sinking in. I was crushed under pounds of metal and my left leg felt absolutely numb. "I think my leg is broken. And every time I talk, I get this intense pain in my chest."

Alessandro kept struggling against his seat belt. It was still wedged tightly against his body and he wrestled with the buckle to unlock it. After feebly trying to disengage, he took a moment to catch his breath and regain some strength. He let out a long sigh that ended with a groan of pain. 

"What is it?" I asked, worried that he had suffered critical damage.

"Nothing," Alessandro said between clenched teeth. He was pressing his right hand against his abdomen as if applying pressure to an open wound.